Sheet music



(No Model.)

' C. P. LANCASTER.

APPLlEANGE FOR HOLDING SHEET MUSIC.

No. 369,534. Patented Sept.'6, 1887.

N. PETERS. Pmwmm r m, Walhingkon. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. LANCASTER, 0E rETos KEY, MICHIGAN.

APPLIANCE FOR HOLDING SHEET-MUSIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,534, datedSeptember 6, 1887.

Serial No.23fi,732. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. LANcAs- TER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Petoskey, in the county of Emmet and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Holding Sheet-Music; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in J devices for holding the leaves of sheet-music,

music-books, or other compositions in place; and it has for its object to provide a device which will rest upon the rack-bar of a piano or organ, or upon the crossbar of a musicstand or other device, and hold the sheets or pages of music against accidental displacement, and by which the leaves or sheets can be easily and quickly turned by the performer without causing a break or stop in the performance. This object I accomplish by the use of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings; and the invention consists in certain novel features of the same, as will be hereinafter first fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings referred to, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved device. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the sliding pivot-bar, and Fig. at is a detail side view of one of the clasps.

In carrying out my invention I employ a base or sill, a, having its bottom inclined rearwardly upward, and its said bottom and rear side covered with plush or similar substance to prevent its scratchingor otherwise injuring the piano or organ music-rack against which it is placed. To theupper side of this sill a, I secure the standards I) c, which may be connected at their upper ends, and which project upward from the base about midway its ends. In the present instance I have shown these standards as being formed from a U- shaped wire, having the integral connectingbar (I at their upper ends; but it will be understood that the standards may, if desired, be disconnected at their upper ends. Upon these standards I mount the sliding bar E, having the ears 6 struck up from its central portion and the pivotpin t secured in these ears.

The ends of the sliding bar E are fitted upon the standards by means of the loops Fg, which inclose the standards 0 b, respectively. The loop F is circular and tits closely around the standard 0, while the loop 9 is elongated and fits loosely around the standard b. This construction enables me to readily adjust the sliding bar to the height of the book or sheets of music, and the loop 9, being fitted loosely on the standard I), will allow that end of the bar to drop slightly and thereby cause the lower end of the loop F to bind against the standard 0 and thereby secure said bar at any height to which it may be adjusted.

Upon the pivot-pin i, I mount a series of swinging arms, 1 2 3 4, which are formed of any suitable material possessing the requisite strength and lightness, and upon the outer ends of these arms I secure the clasps 5 6 7 8, which clamp the upper edges of the musicsheets or leaves of the music-book. It will be seen that the upper diverging ends of thejaws of the clasps are easier to grasp than the edges of the music-leaf, and the performer is thus enabled to turn the leaves rapidly and with certainty without causing a break or stop in the performance.

In the opposite ends of the base or sill I form the longitudinal recesses i, in which I secure the ends of the armsj it, which extend up over the ends of the sill and longitudinally above the same, terminating j ustin front of the standards b 0, against which they are pressed by the coiled springs m, which are arranged in the recesses 73, around the ends of the arms, and have their opposite ends secured in the sill and to the. ends of the arms. These arms j k are placed against the music sheets or leaves, holding them against the standards and leaving the sheets or leaves containing the composition to be performed outside of and free from the same.

The operation of my improved device will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accom: panying drawings, and need not be more fully referred to herein. It will be seen that my device is efiicient in operation, and, being extremely simple in construction, can be manufaetured at a slight cost.

ICO

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination of the standards having a suitable base, the sliding bar fitted on said standards, the swinging arms pivoted to the sliding bar, and the clasps secured to the free ends of the swinging arms to engage the edges of the musiosheets, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the standards having a suitable base, the sliding bar having a circular loop at one end and having its other end fitted loosely upon the other standard, the swinging arms pivoted to the sliding bar, and the clasps secured to the outer ends of the arms to secure the music-sheets, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of the base having the longitudinal recesses in its ends, the standards erected on the base, the arms inserted in the longitudinal recesses in the base, and the coiled springs arranged Within the recesses to press said arms against the standards, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I hereby allix my signature in pres ence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES F. LANCASTER.

\Vitnesses:

J'. G. HILL, MYRoN A. Banana. 

